Roa Island lies just over half a mile (1 km) south of the village of
Rampside
Rampside is a village in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is located a few miles south-east of the town of Barrow-in-Furness, in the north-western corner of Morecambe Bay on the Furness peninsula.
History
There is evidence tha ...
at the southernmost point of the
Furness Peninsula
Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire.
The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...
in
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
, though formerly in the county of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
north of the sands. It is located at (
OS grid ref. SD 233650). It is one of the
Islands of Furness
The Islands of Furness are situated to the south-west and east of the Furness Peninsula. Within England, they are the third biggest collection of islands. They are generally quite small, though at 12.99 km2 Walney Island is the eighth ...
in northern
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It has an area of about three
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
s.
For local government purposes Roa Island is within the
Borough of Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a local government district with borough status in Cumbria, England. It is named after its main town, Barrow-in-Furness. Other settlements include Dalton-in-Furness and Askam-in-Furness. It is the smallest district in the ...
. The island's population stands at around 100, making it the
15th most populated island in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
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History
Until 1847 Roa Island was a true island, being accessible only by boat, or on foot across the sands at low tide.
John Abel Smith
John Abel Smith (2 June 1802 – 7 January 1871) was a British Member of Parliament (MP) for Chichester and Midhurst.
He was the son of John Smith who preceded him as one of the members of parliament for Midhurst.
Smith married Anne Jervoise, ...
, a
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
banker, bought Roa in 1840. He built a causeway to the mainland, completed in 1846, and an 810-foot (247 m) deep-water pier known as ''Piel Pier'' from where steamers sailed to
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
. The pier connected with the
Furness Railway
The Furness Railway (Furness) was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.
History
Formation
In the early 1840s, the owners of iron ore mines in the Furness district of Lancashire became interested i ...
line to
Kirkby
Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...
via
Furness Abbey
Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness, is a former Catholic monastery located to the north of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second-wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the coun ...
, making use of the causeway. Initially the line was open for goods traffic only, but on 24 August 1846 a passenger service was inaugurated.
Over the years there was much disagreement between Smith and the Furness Railway. At one point the railway company set up its own steamer service to Piel Pier, but following a dispute with Smith, diverted the sailings to nearby Barrow. Eventually Smith was able to obtain an injunction for its return to the pier. In due course, however, Smith and the Furness Railway settled their differences and in 1852 the railway agreed to buy the lease for the entire Roa Island estate. Before the deal could be completed a freak storm caused extensive damage to the pier. This allowed the railway to buy all the rights and the property for only £15,000. Piel Pier was demolished in 1891 following changes to the course of Piel Channel which resulted in silting up of the area around the end of the pier. The railway continued in use until July 1936.
Today there is little obvious trace of it, though many of the stones that form the sides of the causeway are actually square stone sleepers from the railway. A road linking Roa Island to Rampside has now taken the place of the railway tracks along the causeway.
[The Cumbria Coastal Way, Brit Long-distance Series, A Cicerone Guide Series, Ian Brodie, Krysia Brodie, Illustrated
, Cicerone Press Limited, 2007, , , pg. 57]
Modern-day Roa Island
Roa Island has a population of about one hundred. Despite its moderate area it boasts a yacht club, a former hotel (the ''Roa Island Hotel'' built in 1849 and originally called the ''Pier Hotel''), and a cafe, within which enquiries can be made about the ferry to
Piel Island
Piel Island lies in Morecambe Bay , around off the southern tip of the Furness peninsula in the administrative county of Cumbria, England. It is one of the Islands of Furness, three of which sit near to Piel at the mouth of Walney Channel. Th ...
. Overlooking the sea with a south-facing aspect is Villa Marina. This house was built for the Furness industrialist
H.W. Schneider as a holiday residence. Over the years it has served as a fisheries investigation laboratory and as army premises during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It is now a hotel. On the lawn are seven cannon pointing out to sea. Other interesting buildings include Trinity Terrace, a row of terraced houses built to provide accommodation for the ten
Trinity House
"Three In One"
, formation =
, founding_location = Deptford, London, England
, status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity
, purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons
, he ...
pilots; and The Watch Tower, a former Customs and Excise House built in 1847.
Roa Island is home to a lifeboat station of the
RNLI
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...
, serving
Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...
and the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
. The station was established in 1864 and was known at the time as Piel (Barrow). In recent years it has been completely rebuilt and enlarged.
Local people have been critical that the tourism potential of Roa Island has been little publicised, whilst other more negative aspects of the local area have been more widely documented, for example in Channel Four's ''The Secret Millionaire''.
Photographs
File:Roaisland 01.jpg, Roa Island lifeboat station
File:View-to-Piel-island.jpg, View from Roa Island to Piel Island
File:Causeway_to_Roa_Island.jpg, Causeway to Roa Island
File:Roa_Island_02.jpg, Roa Island village
See also
*
Piel Island
Piel Island lies in Morecambe Bay , around off the southern tip of the Furness peninsula in the administrative county of Cumbria, England. It is one of the Islands of Furness, three of which sit near to Piel at the mouth of Walney Channel. Th ...
*
Foulney Island
Foulney Island is a low-lying grass and shingle area 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south-east of Roa Island, off the southern tip of the Furness Peninsula in Cumbria, England. Foulney Island is one of the Islands of Furness in Morecambe Bay, northe ...
References
External links
Barrow RNLI
{{Barrow-in-Furness
Islands of Furness
Districts of Barrow-in-Furness
Morecambe Bay